Modern aircraft typically transmit and receive communication signals over multiple communication channels. A control panel located onboard an aircraft, typically referred to as an audio control panel (ACP), may be utilized to coordinate the selection and use of the various communication channels.
As the number of communication channels increases, the number of hardware control elements (e.g., knobs, buttons and the like) provided for selecting communication channels also increases, leading to a very crowded and non-intuitive ACP faceplate layout. In addition, changes to one or more channels (e.g., adding or removing one or more channels) may require a re-design of the ACP faceplate layout, increasing cost and cycle time needed to implement such changes. Further, ACPs often need to be customized for different aircraft platforms, which may contribute to increased cost, and in certain situations, may even require the customized ACPs to be re-certified due to hardware changes.